Isabel del Rio is a writer and linguist. She was born in Madrid but has lived in London most of her life, and writes fiction and poetry in both English and Spanish. Among her published Works are La duda, shortlisted for two literary awards, and the bilingual book Zero Negative–Cero negativo; her fiction includes Paradise & Hell, Una muerte incidental and El tiempo que falta; her poetry includes the books Ataraxy, Madrid, Madrid, Madrid and Punto de fuga. She is the co-founder of Friends of Alice Publishing.

This cultural initiative by La Tundra is among the best things to have happened in London recently, specially as there is a huge number of Spanish speakers here! Our Spanish-speaking countries have always boasted a rich literary and artistic tradition, which we brought with us when we came to London. This is why there are so many professional writers and artists in our community.

The Fair will be a forum to meet up, showcase our work and, specially, join forces with other friends and colleagues, as we all have a common purpose, which is to contribute decisively to Art and Culture in the UK. We may not be part of the mainstream, but this does not mean that there are not within us excellent writers publishing independently. Although the Fair is dedicated to publishing in Spanish, it will also welcome writers of every nationality, since literature is nothing if not universal. Therefore, a fair such as LSBF 2019 is a real gift and we are all extremely grateful to all the organizers.

Friends of Alice Publishing will represent the writersMichael Wyndham (United Kingdom), David Russomano (USA), Wlodek Fenrych (Poland) and Isabel del Rio (Spain) on The London Spanish Book & Zine Fair. Additionally Isabel del Rio will lead the round table ‘The Bilingual writer‘ with guest writers Juana Adcock (Mexico), Leo Boix (Argentina) and Karina Lickorish Quinn (Peru/UK). The participants will be discussing their personal and professional experiences resulting from writing creatively in both English and Spanish, as well as in Spanglish, and how bilingualism as an artistic and innovative tool affects identity.